Message from the Chair

By Robert S. Horwitz

If you look at the Taxation Section webpage and scroll down to the list of standing committees and their officers, you will notice something strange. Whereas in the past, the standing committees had four or five officers, all standing committees now have two officers, a chair and a vice chair. As of April 1, 2016, a number of other sections of The State Bar of California no longer have standing committees. These changes are a reaction to a provision of the 2015 State Bar dues bill.

Each year the State Legislature enacts legislation setting the coming year’s State Bar dues. The dues bill enacted in 2015 contained a provision that made the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act applicable to The State Bar of California, including the sections, their subcommittees and standing committees.

The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act imposes a number of new requirements on meetings of a quorum of a body with three or more members. To except the standing committees from these requirements, as Chair, I made the decision to have only two officers for each standing committee. With the new structure, the standing committees will be able to continue to offer quality educational programs for their members while being fully compliant with Bagley-Keene.